Tiffany Haddish honours her Eritrean roots at the Oscars

Comedian Tiffany Haddish stole the spotlight at the Oscars 2018 starting from the red carpet where she dazzled in a cream traditional Eritrean dress and a black cape with gold embroidery and gold jewellery.

The American actress whose late father Tsihaye Reda Haddish is from Eritrea and mother an African-American told ABC on the red carpet that her dress was a tribute to her father who passed away last year.

“He said one day I would end up here and if I ever ended up at the Oscars I should honour my people so I’m honouring my fellow Eritreans,” she said.

Tiffany Haddish with her father Tsihaye Reda Haddish on her wedding day.

Haddish recently visited her late father’s home country where she met her extended family. Though her father who entered the United States as a refugee left her and her mother at a very young age, Tiffany managed to locate and reconnect with him. Tsihaye walked her down the aisle on her first wedding which she described as one of the happiest days of her life.

After a very emotional visit to Eritrea, she describes the encounter in a very tearful interview below:

Sign up to receive updates from Face2face Africa,

Ismail Akwei is the Head of Content at Face2face Africa. He is an international journalist (digital/ broadcast media), human rights advocate, pan-Africanist, tech enthusiast and a lover of art and culture. He has worked with multinational media companies in three African countries and has over a decade's experience in journalism.